DeMint says Sotomayor's writings raise questions

WASHINGTON - South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint said Tuesday that some writings by Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor raise serious questions about her approach to the Constitution and the role of the federal judiciary.

The conservative Republican senator said he will withhold judgment about her nomination until she testifies before the Senate.

As one example, his office pointed to a decision last year when she sided with the city of New Haven, Conn., in a discrimination case brought by white firefighters. The city threw out results of a promotion exam because too few minorities scored high enough. Coincidentally, that case is now before the Supreme Court.

That ruling has drawn criticism from other conservatives as well, and is likely to play a role in her confirmation hearing.

DeMint said he looks forward to meeting with Sotomayor and learning more about her judicial approach.

"Few things are more central to our duty than confirming Supreme Court justices who will uphold the law and apply it equally for all Americans, not rewrite it from the bench based on personal opinion," DeMint said.

Obama announced his nomination of Sotomayor, who would be the country's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, on Tuesday. She is an appeals judge for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers New York, Vermont and Connecticut.

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for
following agreed-upon rules of civility. Posts and
comments do not reflect the views of this site. Posts and comments are
automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some
comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules,
click the "Flag as offensive" link below the comment.

Willie, it was the blacks in New Haven that played the race card in the first place. Jackfruitcake (nutty as), you always seem to have something to say. I hope our Conservatives do their job during the confirmation hearings. It won't be the blood bath or "Borking" of her as the DIMs envariably do.

Minorities can't be held to the same standards as whites,Hispanic women make better decisions than white men, it's the government's job to provide subsidy to all who wish it and the job of the court is to set policy and legislate. Sotomayer's record is a life of fringe liberalism. She's exactly the "judge" Obama is looking for. Anti-American and very pro-active.

hey jisomjr, I guess you didn't hear, Bush put Souter on the Supreme Court. Do you think he makes great choices? Sotomayor doesn't lean left, she points due left on all compasses at all times. She feels anything simi-moderate to be infinitely distasteful. My comments about her are actual quotes by her. They just sound like insults.

she's replacing a passive aggressive back-stabber, so the effective end result will be the same court we have now. Since she offends most of her colleagues, regardless of political philosophy, she isn't likely to be a judge that sways anyone to her perspective. She will, however, greatly increase the "ugly quotient" in the supreme court, on all levels.